Hello everyone, I've been a long-time lurker on this forum and I'm finally (after a year and a half as a member 
) getting around to putting together a garage thread. I've already received a bunch of information on the site and I look forward to sharing my experiences!
So, pros and cons of the garage
PROS
1. Oversized 2 bays means I can work on a project car and still have room for general storage.
2. Attached so I don't get unmotivated to trudge out to the garage when its cold
3. Built in cabinets (not great, but better than having to buy)
4. Wood left over from previous owner
5. Deep, so I can have workbenches/storage along the rear wall
CONS
1. It is not 4 to 10 bays
2. Original lighting was woefully inadequate (more on this later)
3. Door openers have no wall-button input
4. Unfinished walls
5. Water heater and HVAC systems take up a large amount of room.
6. Garage doors not insulated
Still, I'm really happy with it so far. I've already started to resolve the lighting issue in the garage by replacing the overhead fixtures with T8 bulbs, which make a world of difference. As you can see in the pictures, the old setup had the lighting fixtures directly next to the door opener, which not only blocked a lot of the light but also meant extension cords had to be used to jump from the door openers to the nearest overhead outlet. I've replaced these fixture locations with outlets so that is no longer and issue.
In addition to the overhead lighting going in, I've been adding Insteon switches and sensors around the house to handle some home automation. Since the garage lighting is separate from the door openers, I have the garage doors on sensors that trigger the Insteon to turn on the garage lights. Once I'm out of the room for a preset amount of time the lights go off on their own, in case I forget to turn them off.
My workbench is actually the dining room table my grandmother used for probably 20 years as a dining table then relegated to a crafts table. It is fairly sturdy and already a bit banged up so I don't feel bad about the little scuff or scratch here and there. It also has a cool history so I'm glad to have it over some $40 cheapie from the store.
My tool "storage", if you can call it that, is similar in that it shows how cheap I am. I built this thing in about 30 minutes one day when I first moved in and it has held up admirably. I will probably get something nicer at some point but it gets the job done.
And here is the first project, a 1987 BMW E30 me and a group of friends are building for Chumpcar/Lemons. Currently stripped to the bone and ready to start reassembly. Once this thing is somewhat back together maybe I will be able to actually get things cleaned up a bit.
) getting around to putting together a garage thread. I've already received a bunch of information on the site and I look forward to sharing my experiences!
So, pros and cons of the garage
PROS
1. Oversized 2 bays means I can work on a project car and still have room for general storage.
2. Attached so I don't get unmotivated to trudge out to the garage when its cold
3. Built in cabinets (not great, but better than having to buy)
4. Wood left over from previous owner
5. Deep, so I can have workbenches/storage along the rear wall
CONS
1. It is not 4 to 10 bays
2. Original lighting was woefully inadequate (more on this later)
3. Door openers have no wall-button input
4. Unfinished walls
5. Water heater and HVAC systems take up a large amount of room.
6. Garage doors not insulated
Still, I'm really happy with it so far. I've already started to resolve the lighting issue in the garage by replacing the overhead fixtures with T8 bulbs, which make a world of difference. As you can see in the pictures, the old setup had the lighting fixtures directly next to the door opener, which not only blocked a lot of the light but also meant extension cords had to be used to jump from the door openers to the nearest overhead outlet. I've replaced these fixture locations with outlets so that is no longer and issue.
In addition to the overhead lighting going in, I've been adding Insteon switches and sensors around the house to handle some home automation. Since the garage lighting is separate from the door openers, I have the garage doors on sensors that trigger the Insteon to turn on the garage lights. Once I'm out of the room for a preset amount of time the lights go off on their own, in case I forget to turn them off.
My workbench is actually the dining room table my grandmother used for probably 20 years as a dining table then relegated to a crafts table. It is fairly sturdy and already a bit banged up so I don't feel bad about the little scuff or scratch here and there. It also has a cool history so I'm glad to have it over some $40 cheapie from the store.
My tool "storage", if you can call it that, is similar in that it shows how cheap I am
. I built this thing in about 30 minutes one day when I first moved in and it has held up admirably. I will probably get something nicer at some point but it gets the job done.
And here is the first project, a 1987 BMW E30 me and a group of friends are building for Chumpcar/Lemons. Currently stripped to the bone and ready to start reassembly. Once this thing is somewhat back together maybe I will be able to actually get things cleaned up a bit.
